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Three people sought in Cass Lake murder case located

CASS LAKE -- Three people sought by police after the Nov. 12 murder of a Cass Lake woman have been found, but law enforcement would not discuss details related to the location of the trio Wednesday.

A news release posted on the Cass County Sheriff’s Office’s Facebook page at about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday said that Anthony John LaRose, 28, Sara Renae LaRose, 41 and Ileisha Lynee Guinn, 25 “have been located and are cooperating with authorities.” Neither the release, nor Cass County Sheriff Tom Burch, said where or when the LaRoses and Guinn were found. When asked via email whether they were in custody anywhere in Minnesota, Burch replied “Not to my knowledge.”

Law enforcement asked for help in locating the three people shortly after a woman was shot in the head in a Cass Lake residence in the early morning hours of Nov. 12.

Authorities have not officially named the victim but search warrants related to the investigation have identified her as Brandi Shank, also known as Brandi Strong, 25, of Cass Lake.

Brandon Joseph Roy, 24, also of Cass Lake, was charged with second-degree unintentional murder on Nov. 14 in connection with her death.

According to a criminal complaint against Roy, the LaRoses and Guinn were present during the shooting. In a statement made to the Pioneer on Nov. 14, while the trio was still at large, Burch referred to them as “persons of interest,” but said law enforcement did not know whether they were suspects or witnesses.

None of them were in custody in Cass Lake County as of Wednesday afternoon.

According to the complaint, the victim was shot after Roy and Anthony LaRose went into a bathroom and closed the door. Both of them had firearms with them, the complaint said, and one of them fired at least one round through the bathroom door. The round hit Strong, according to a search warrant, but another person who was at the scene later told police he thought he was the intended target.